Coffield scores 19 in MOC road win

Published in Sports on January 4, 2005 1:55 PM

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FLORENCE, S.C. -- In a matchup of participants in last year's NCAA Division II men's basketball championship, Mount Olive defeated Francis Marion 89-63 in non-conference action Monday at Florence, S.C.

Elton Coffield led four players in double figures with 19 points as the Trojans extended their winning streak to five and snapped Francis Marion's 12-game homecourt winning streak. Mount Olive committed a season-low eight turnovers in the contest.

Mount Olive (7-1) took an early double-digit lead as Maurice Horton's three-pointer and Coffield's fast break slam dunk helped the Trojans build a 23-9 lead with 10:32 left in the first half.

Francis Marion (5-5) used an 8-2 run to cut the lead to single digits, but Coffield and Chris Bartley combined for three three-pointers in a span of less than 90 seconds to extend Mount Olive's lead to 35-19 with 4:32 left in the first half and the Trojans led by double figures the rest of the game.

Coffield had 14 points in the first half as Mount Olive went into the locker room with a 45-24 lead at intermission.

In the second half, Francis Marion never got any closer than 19 points and the Trojans' lead never got below 20 after Horton's three-point play extended the Trojans' lead to 62-40 with 12:34 left in the game. Mount Olive's biggest lead was 30 points when Plinio Broering's layup with 7:32 remaining made the score 81-51.

Horton tallied 14 points and six assists, while Melvin Creddle added 13 points, five assists, five rebounds and four steals. Victor Young finished with 10 points, while Sharome Holloway shared game-high honors on the boards with nine rebounds. Vony Rivers led Francis Marion with 13 points.

Last season, Mount Olive earned its first-ever trip to the NCAA II men's basketball championship, falling in the first round of the East Regional to No. 2 seed Alderson-Broaddus. Francis Marion, which was ranked as high as No. 5 in the nation last year, reached the semifinals of the South Region last year before falling to eventual national champion Kennesaw State.

The Trojans are now 1-1 this season against teams who competed in last year's NCAA II championship.

The Trojans resume Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference play Thursday as Mount Olive (1-0 CVAC) travels to Wilson to face rival Barton. Tip-off is 7:30 p.m.